Wednesday, August 16, 2017

News broke yesterday that the Ooni of Ife's marriage to Olori Wuraola Zaynab Otiti has crashed.

The update regarding the news is that a new queen has already been picked for the Ooni.

According to a source close to the Ooni, unlike Olori Wuraola is from Benin, Edo State, the new Queen is from Yorubaland.

"The new queen will be unveiled by the end of the month or sometime in September. The king of the Yorubas can not be a bachelor;" a reliable source told LIB.

Meanwhile, Olori Wuraola Ogunwusi has dismissed rumours making the rounds that her marriage has crashed.

The queen said the news was an attempt to defame her character as her marriage is still intact with Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi. She said investigations are being carried out to apprehend those behind the allegations.

This was contained in a statement issued by Abraham Adedeji, Olori Wuraola’s Press Secretary on Tuesday.

The statement reads:

“It has come to the attention of our office – the slanderous rumors and sensationalist distortions about Her Majesty, Olori Wuraola Ogunwusi through unnamed and unseen sources.“The sources are also citing deplorable claims involving Her Majesty, Wuraola and that of prominent businessmen in Nigeria, all of whom are good friends of the King and Queen & financial contributors to projects that have advanced our good work in the communities of Ife and Nigeria as a whole.“We are deeply disturbed by these rumors and there is absolutely no truth to these absurd claims of infidelity and we vehemently deny them.“Due to the nature of the allegations and the attempt to defame the character of the Queen and embarrass well respected friends of our Palace, we have immediately employed legal counsel to investigate their origin to take necessary action against the perpetrators.“Please be advised, that in this digital age, digital footprints can lead to your identification. We stand firmly together, in our commitment to our peace and the truth.”

Also, the Ooni of Ife, had also debunked the allegation, stating that his marriage is still intact and full of joy.

A murder trial has heard how a failed asylum seeker in Germany, butchered his beautiful refugee helper girlfriend known as the ‘Angel of Ahaus’ after she broke off their relationship.

Nigerian Anthony I, 28, killed student, Soopika Paramanathan, 22, out of jealousy, said prosecutors at a court in Muenster. Anthony bought a large suitcase in which he intended to stuff her body and dump it into a lake after he stabbed her repeatedly in the street.

The accused refused to speak at the first day of his trial yesterday where judges heard how he came to Germany in 2015 claiming to be a homosexual who had fought against the Boko Haram terror group in his homeland.

Both claims were false. In the town of Ahaus, he met Soopika, who spent all her spare time helping out refugees like him at a local asylum seekers’ home. They met in August last year and became lovers.

But Soopika ended the relationship after just a few weeks – a rejection that Anthony was unable to handle. ‘He could not bear the thought of her going with another man,’ said the prosecution.

He lay in wait for her in February this year after she visited a friend’s house in Ahaus. With a long bladed knife he leapt upon her, stabbing her repeatedly in the head, neck and breasts.

Police chief, Herbert Mengelkamp, quickly focused in on Anthony, whose asylum application was in the process of being rejected by authorities. Her father Sivasamboo, 53, said; ‘She felt threatened by him and was fearful in the days before the attack.’

He tried to stuff her body into the blue suitcase at the crime scene but fled when passersby saw him. He fled to Switzerland but was caught two days later by police at Basel railway station. He is facing life imprisonment when an expected guilty verdict is handed down on September 20.

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

"Yesterday there were reports that the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi's marriage to his wife Olori Wuraola has crashed after just 17 months and we can tell you authoritatively that this is true", LIB wrote.

A few weeks ago, the Ooni told his wife he was no longer interested in the marriage and asked her to leave. The former Olori has relocated from Osun state and now lives in Lagos. So what led to the marriage break up?

Here's authoritative fact made available to LIB.

The Ooni married Olori Wuraola shortly after meeting her last year. According to sources close to the estranged couple, after he ascended the throne, a wife was needed asap and he was introduced to Wuraola, who at the time was with a Lebanese business man. But immediately the Ooni indicated interest to marry her, she quickly dumped the Lebanese man and went with the new Ooni.

"She was with this guy in February 2016, in fact ,she had their photo on her Whatsapp DP and just the following month, in March, she was married to the Ooni. We were all surprised" a source close to the former Olori told LIB exclusively.

"The funny thing is; the Ooni was advised not to marry her. Former president Obasanjo himself, who regards the Ooni highly, advised him to marry someone else but the Ooni turned a deaf ear to his plea. She had been married before to a former governor and a Lebanese man, so many of his inner circle friends wanted another woman for him, but he was adamant" the source continued.

It was gathered that the Olori still ran to the same Obasanjo for help and advise, when the Ooni threatened to marry another wife. Obasanjo didn't do much according to what we gathered.

Thursday, August 10, 2017

Tuesday, August 1, 2017 will remain indelible in the memory of journalists and team of non-governmental organisation privileged to be in the team that visited Badagry Prison, Lagos.

It was memorable not because 80 underaged prisoners were set free but the condition of those set free and many who are still in the prison that will die in the next few days. Just few days ago, five minors died , Badagry prison sources have said.

They all came out of the prision on Tuesday looking dirty, with many inflicted with various skin diseases as one could see as they run their fingers across their body frame. The feeling of hunger was vivid and evokes feelings of the Nigerian civil war of the 60s.

“We eat once a day and sleep sitting”, one of the prisoners said. Some very bony, frail and lacking the strength to stand. The clothes they put on have metamophorsed into oversized sackcloth due to the enormity of deprivation they have gone through. They struggle and fall upon themselves to grab a piece of snacks, reporters threw in their direction.

Among them are innocent teenagers arrested during raids for cultists and other juvenile crimes, their destination should naturally have been the juvenile homes, the many remand centres that the Lagos State Government has set up, but they found themselves in prison yard in the remotest part of Lagos.

To any visitor, the exterior of the Badagry Prison complex located at the beachfront of the historic Badagry town looks deserted and without any activity — a false impression, given the number of inmates inside. It has the same features as most prisons in Nigeria – heavy green gates, high walls, heavily armed security personnel and a vast army of eagle-eyed prison wardens who go through the daily motions of receiving new inmates and also ensuring that inmates serve their time. But it is a house of horror as any visitor would find out.

Held deep in the dingy cells of the prison among convicted murderers armed robbers, rapists and the likes, are also children and teenagers serving sentences for various offences ranging from petty theft to wandering and even street hawking. The horror within the Badagry prison cells is better imagined.

When the Lagos State Chief Judge, Honorable Justice Funmilayo Atilade decided to visit the prison hoping to set free 28 under-aged inmates, little did she prepare for the spectacle she was confronted with – hundreds of hungry and unkempt children, displaying varying stages of diseases and neglect.

The children and teenagers clad in oversized green and blue prison garments were seated on wooden benches in the prison chapel, hoping for a possible stroke of luck or divine intervention that could secure them freedom.

The air was heavy with the smell of disinfectant, but it could not hide the odour of unwashed bodies, packed so tightly that it made one’s stomach churn.

The children, especially, were sick, hungry, weak, dying and crying.

The expressions in their eyes were the same. They wanted to go home. They wanted their parents.

While they waited for their names to be called, their hands went unconsciously into their oversized trousers, scratching their private parts without any form of embarrassment.

Their movements seemed choreographed. They all had places to scratch with their skin turning ghostly white from constant scratching.

Signs of chicken pox, ringworm, scabies, possibly leprosy and a host of undiagnosed skin could be seen all over their skins. There were some with open sores oozing thick and yellow pus. There were others with open bullet wounds. Some also have had their legs amputated legs. All were expectant and hopeful for freedom.

At the back of the prison chapel was a boy not less than 13 years old, suffering from stroke. According to his friend who brought him, he was physically fit, but had become sick, more or less a vegetable, depending on others for survival.

There was palpable silence among them when the prison decongestion committee began calling names of those granted amnesty.

Once they hear their names, the beneficiaries leapt for joy, hurried forward, holding their oversized trousers held by pieces of rope and rags.

There was not a dry eye in sight as judges, police officers and even those in the CJ’s convoy wept.

The sight of the children, lined up like criminals, their shaven heads bowed, was a wake-up call for concerned authorities to do something urgent about the nation’s judicial system.

The inhumane condition that the children were made to endure was brought to light by one Mrs. Dupe Olubanwo who petitioned the Lagos CJ while calling for immediate action.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a member of the prison decongestion team revealed that death is a common experience in Badagry Prison.

“The children die like flies. They have no care whatsoever. It was because of the CJ’s visit that they were made to have their baths. As you can see from their gaunt and emaciated bodies, feeding is a major problem. The children are starving. They are literally dying of hunger. Many come here healthy but are slowly consumed by treatable diseases,” he said, adding that the sleeping conditions of the children are quite traumatic.

“The children, alongside other prisoners are packed so tightly in small cells that they sleep in sitting position. They seldom have their baths, as potable water is a serious problem here,” the team member stated further.

Investigations by Sunday Tribune revealed that many of the children and teenagers committed alleged bailable offences. Several others were held for minor offences like loitering, wandering, street trading and in some cases, alleged stealing, for which they were charged before mobile courts which imposed a fine of N35,000 or less.

Sadly, many of the children are from poor homes. While their parents continued to find means of perfecting their bail conditions, the children continued to rot in jail.

Speaking with Sunday Tribune, one of the prison inmates, a 14-year-old boy, Samuel (pseudo name) said that he was picked up by a task force for hawking beef sausage, popularly known as Gala.

“I am from the East. I came to stay with my distant relative. I was made to start hawking. My people do not know that I am here,” he said adding: “I want to go back home.”

Another teenager who had open sores all over him, exposed to Sunday Tribune his private parts and with tears in his eyes, said:

Looking closely one could see that his private parts, covered in thick black scabs oozing out yellow pus, had been eaten up by a severe case of scabies popularly known as ‘krawkraw.’ The insides of his buttocks were also not spared.

“The rapid increase in the population is, often times, as a result of the existing old vehicles that can no longer convey them to court for trial, coupled with delayed administration of justice that extends their stay.

“ My lady, during your last visit on November 3, 2016 we complained about insufficient water supply and adequate medical facilities to aid in the treatment of some inmates that suffer severe injuries while being arrested by security agencies. We also want you to look into the case of under-aged children who are serving prison terms here,” he said.

Looking at the conditions of the children, the CJ demanded the warrant of arrest of the underaged inmates. It was a laborious task sorting through the piles of paperwork to determine who gets to stay and who gets to leave.

At the end of the day, 80 underaged inmates were set free. While they jubilated, the other children wailed loudly, tears and mucus rolling down their sad faces.

As they continued to wail, right in their presence prison officials brought packs of meat pie and cans of malt, distributing them to the August visitors. All of the visitors decided not to eat the snacks and gave them to the children who rushed for the food, clawing and fighting themselves.

The stronger ones had the upper hand, forcibly pushed the weaker ones aside and crammed the snacks in their mouths. They guzzled the malt drink with relish as the weaker ones licked the drops that dropped on the floor.

In the midst of the confusion a boy fell and remained immobile on the dusty ground, too weak to move.

Sitting outside the chapel on a cemented slab was a boy of about sixteen. He was covered in sores from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet. He was literally in a state of decay while still alive. He had been abandoned to his fate, the only company he had were flies. They perched in him in droves feasting on the open sores.

“Help me,” he said in a feeble voice wracked with hunger.

“Don’t mind him,” a prison warder said, “He has already been convicted.”“Please no pictures,” another warder said, gently but firmly.

Even without prison officials’ warnings, no pictures could have been taken. All visitors had been made to surrender their phones and other electronic devices at the gate. However, it would take a long time to wipe out the pictures already etched in the visitors’ ‘human memory cards.’

Earlier in his welcome address, the Deputy Comptroller General in charge of Badagry Prison, Mr. Oyeniran Famuwagun decried congestion of the prison. He said the prison which now houses 584 inmates was built to accommodate just 320 inmates.

He explained that 195 of the inmates are on the awaiting trial list. 389 others are convicts with a working staff population of about 70 staff. Famuwagun also complained of inadequate funding, lack of portable water and overstretched infrastructure at the prison particularly vehicles for conveying the inmates to courts.

Friday, August 4, 2017

For about two days, women, (and men) have been relating their experience as victims of rape and sexual assaults while growing up, through a Facebook user Olubunmi Ajai Layode.

Most of them who sent message to Olubunmi, Founder of Greenland Shelter for Domestic Violence Victims, and permitted her to share on Facebook what they had to go through, growing up. They were raped by their fathers, relatives and strangers between age 2 and 8. Few of them as teenagers. Sharing from her inbox, Olubunmi wrote...

If you have young daughters, please be wary about having houseboys. A friend of mine, because her dad liked women, her mother only had houseboys. She unwittingly exposed her daughters to serial abuse by various houseboys.

Good evening sis...on the abuse series.

1st experience was the day my female cousin called me ( I stayed with them) to come and see something. ..

Kojo was our houseboy, and the whole house praised how diligent he was...

My cousin led me to his room and I saw his penis hard as ever...

He laid on his bed facing up with his two hands under his neck and a stupid grin all over his face.

He asked her to continue what she was doing and my 10yr old cousin started wanking him...I was shocked and didn't understand anything, I was 6yrs old then.

Then she told me to do the same...I touched him but even in my naivety, I was disgusted..so I asked her to go on...she did until he came...

Thinking about it now, I do not know the extent he went with her, if he penetrated later or not. But I never went to his room with her again.

The other one happened when I was around 11yrs...still in my cousin's house...

They had a family friend who was a full blown adult.

He used to come from ilorin to Lagos for short stays with us...

He is a staunch Muslim.His name is Taju, hence we all called him Alfa Taju.

This man started with buying me biscuits and stuff...I really liked him because he was a funny man .

We stayed in a duplex and we could only check who was knocking our gate through the guest room upstairs.

It started one day I was asked to check who was knocking, I went into the guest room where he used to stay during his visit and as I peeped through the window shouting 'who is dat ' ? He came to me and started rubbing my shoulders...I smiled and left the room...From dat day, his visits became my nightmare.

I was the youngest so I was always sent to check who was knocking...I would be slow and scared to go .

From struggle with him trying to kiss me,t o him fondling my flat chest.

It usually wouldn't last more than 3mins because he never had the chance with me all alone in the house as we were always plenty at home but it was always a horror going through serious fights with him...I will push him and struggle and run towards the door and no one would know what happened.

We didn't have a voice to report, I never had the courage to report him because I was scared I would be beaten...

One thing is an abuser is a deadly person...a second counts for them...even a millisecond.My aunty tried to shield us by not letting us go out but see what happened...

For about two days, women, (and men) have been relating their experience as victims of rape and sexual assaults while growing up, through a Facebook user Olubunmi Ajai Layode.

Most of them who sent message to Olubunmi, Founder of Greenland Shelter for Domestic Violence Victims, and permitted her to share on Facebook what they had to go through, growing up. They were raped by their fathers, relatives and strangers between age 2 and 8. Few of them as teenagers.

Sharing from her inbox, Olubunmi wrote...

Abused by her dad. And her mother put pepper in her vagina for telling 'lies' about her father when she spoke out.

I was thirteen years old when it happened, I remember clearly cos that was when I saw my first period. Then my dad (a contractor) started making advances at me. My mum owner a restaurant and business wasn't flourishing so she was rushing from one prayer house to another, always going for vigil and crusades.

In our house, the girls had a room to themselves and the guys had a room to themselves too. But I loved reading so most times, I will go to the living room at night and read my novels so I don't disturb my sisters with the light I usually turn on to read.

Dad will come there in the living room and start touching me, I resisted cos I knew it was bad and he would hit me and call me names in the morning for resisting. There were days I couldn't resist him cos he'd slap me so he would rub his manhood on me till he cums, other times he'd tell me to suck it or stroke it till he cums, it continued for like three months till I couldn't take it anymore, by now I've learnt to stay in my room and yet he'd come at night to drag me to their room. So I started being rude to him and disobeying him, daring him to speak out about it.

That Christmas , mum called me out for being rude to dad and I was apologizing then my dad said "yes o, its because she's now following all these boys in the area". I saw red so I spoke out and told mum that he's been touching me and that was why I was rude, he shouted me down calling me a bitch and a witch.

Sadly, mum believed him, so that day I got the beating of my life and she poured pepper into my vagina.

Later, she called me to her room to verify my story further so I told her all that transpired, she now believed me but couldn't confront dad, she started taking myself and my sisters to the vigils and she also started monitoring my dad and me.

He stopped disturbing me after that day I got beaten but I went ahead to warn him off my sisters and that if I see him near them, I'd shame him publicly.

For about two days, women, (and men) have been relating their experience as victims of rape and sexual assaults while growing up, through a Facebook user Olubunmi Ajai Layode.

Most of them who sent message to Olubunmi, Founder of Greenland Shelter for Domestic Violence Victims, and permitted her to share on Facebook what they had to go through, growing up. They were raped by their fathers, relatives and strangers between age 2 and 8. Few of them as teenagers. Another person wrote...

Hello Sis,

You really are doing a great job with this series, God bless you.Could you please encourage guys who has experienced rape or sexual assaults from men or women to speak up too.

This is not to diminish ladies experiences or take 'shine' out of their stories but believe me, so many men have horrific experiences too....you know men won't talk.

How do I know? Personally have never been abused or take part in any form of abuse of a man or woman...thank to the 'mother hen' attitude of my mum and the training she gave me about sexual conduct with people generally....single mums are sometimes the best at raising men....lol.

I was in Abeokuta this past March and met up with my school friends (most of us either flat mates or neighbors during sch days) as usual to drink, gist and relieved stories from our school days....we always gather whenever I go home.

This particular night, somehow the story shifted to being sexually abused by "big aunties". Out of the 8 of us, 7 of them; except me, had sad stories to tell.I was shocked and surprised; worried. I thought boys may just be telling beer induced fantasy. So before I left, I met up with almost all of them (separately in a sober atmosphere) and they all repeated their stories.

1 of us who was a former commissioner in Ogun state actually she tears....because he still see the "aunty" around....now old and haggard and each time he see her; according to him o he always "freeze with fear".

According to him, the "aunty" will line up all the boys up (all under 10) and ask them to be licking her vagina one by one.

He said she was hairy down there so he always try to go first because anything after that will be sucking saliva soaked hair and vagina.

Since this series is about tackling rape endemic (which is recently on the increase again in Nigeria), please encourage all victims who wants to tell their story to do so regardless of gender.

For about two days, women, (and men) have been relating their experience as victims of rape and sexual assaults while growing up, through a Facebook user Olubunmi Ajai Layode.

Most of them who sent message to Olubunmi, Founder of Greenland Shelter for Domestic Violence Victims, and permitted her to share on Facebook what they had to go through, growing up. They were raped by their fathers, relatives and strangers between age 2 and 8. Few of them as teenagers. However one of them, (unnamed) has asked a prominent Nigerian pastor to apologise to her or risk being shamed on social media. Olubunmi wrote...

Just got off the phone now. She said that my posts have re-awakened old demons in her life. She calls herself a mess as a result of what this man did to her. She was raped by this prominent Christian in Nigeria. A Christian leader in his field. She is ready to name him and has given him 24 hours to apologise. He claims not to remember her.

She got pregnant from the rape. She had to have an abortion. Now, she has not been able to have a baby after that.

Mr Man, you know who you are. I know who you are. I actually contacted you some years ago regarding your business. Your late sister was my very good friend. Your wife's very good friend is my very good friend. You will be named and shamed if you do not apologise to her. She has told you that I am doing a series and so, you know this is going on on my wall.

PMB

Contact me for Speaking Engagement on DV

Journalist, Writer & much more

I am a Journalist by profession; a published Author, Writer, Poet, Blogger and Crusader. I adore motherhood, grateful to Allah for such mercy. Editor, Pearl Magazine Blog. Founder, Complete Care International (CCI).

Published Wedding Anniversary in December 2016. a compelling story of love, hate and domestic violence. Available online at Amazon, AuthorHouse UK.

When I'm not working I read, write, bake, watch TV, manage my NGO for women activism or host events. I have two published Plays and many unpublished works.

An Irish National of Nigerian origin, Adeyinka Okin, mother of five, who travelled weekly from London to Waterford, Ireland to claim over ...

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